relaying quarry tiles on bed of earth in kitchen

[Grub]

A friend has recently moved into an old house (about 100 years old). The dinning room area has a quarry tiled floor that is very uneven and has many cracked tiles. Furthermore, there was a damp problem which has now been fixed by contractors.

My confusion about undertaking this project for my friend is this. I lifted one of the loose quarry tiles only to discover it appeared to be resting not on a concrete floor underneath but earth!

I would like to lift all the tiles, if necessary remove all of the present soil/earth as it smells dank (through earlier damp problem) and replace with new sand and relay quarry tiles, replacing the cracked / broken ones with reclaimed tiles I have sourced at a local reclamation yard. I need to know the following things:

1. Is it earth or sand that these older houses tended to use for the bed for the tiles?

2. Can normal builders sand be used as a replacement if the original bed was earth?

3. Once the new sand or earth (whichever) is laid, is it necessary/normal for the sand to be whacker plated (similar to the process when laying block paving?) before the quarry tiles are relaid or can tiles just be laid directly onto loosely layed but screeded (levelled) sand?

Or out another way..does anyone out there know how to relay a quarry tiled internal floor most likely laid on an earth bed?

 

[Jasonb]

I would avoid relaying onto the earth, I assume thae damp problem was only treated in the walls, you therefore have no barrier in the floor.

It would be better to excavate 150mm, lay sand blinding, DPM and then concrete. You may even want to go lower and incorporate insulation in the form of expanded polystyrene.

Then relay the tiles in thick bed tile adhesive.

Jason

 

[masona]

there was a damp problem which has now been fixed by contractors.

Do you know what the contractors did to cured the damp problem, was this damp under the floor tiles ?